Tell me these words are a lie
by SelenesLegacy
Summary: AU from 1x14, 'T.A.H.I.T.I.'. The team goes through a devastating event, and Grant Ward finally realizes something he's known for a long time.


**Tell me these words are a lie**

_I don't own Agents of Shield, unfortunately. They're the property of Marvel._

Grant tries his best to keep down the fear threatening to overwhelm him as he watches Skye in the Hyperbaric Chamber. If it had been up to him, Quinn would have had a bullet between his eyes the moment Grant stepped inside his mansion. But he didn't pull the trigger, and now Skye is fighting for her life.

He can feel FitzSimmons look at him, and it feels as if he's suffocating. He's not sure where to go, just that he needs to get away. Two hours later, he's running alongside the team as they wheel Skye into the Trauma Zentrum in Zurich. His heart is hammering as he watches Skye being wheeled into the OR, and then he's left to wait.

After what feels like an infinity, he is sitting opposite FitzSimmons, listening to Fitz asking himself why he didn't stop Skye from going into the mansion. A weak smile covers his face when he hears Simmons say: "As if you could keep Skye from doing anything she set her mind to." And it's a spot-on observation about their teammate.

Not that he's never thought about her as anything else than that… but he's been having a harder time lately to keep her out of his mind. Playing Battleship in the afternoon with Skye has slowly become his favorite activity, because of her smile. She smiles broadly at him, and it's like watching the sun slowly make its way across the sky, only to spread out its rays and Grant can't get enough of it.

He tries not to think about what might be going on in the OR, and clings to a feeble hope that the injuries might not be that massive, that Skye will be back on her feet in the matter of weeks. A stinging pain spreads through his hand, and he looks down to see that he's bleeding from clenching his fist so hard.

"Damn it, Ward." He hears May say, and then her hand is on his, inspecting the damage. Simmons hands her a small bandage, and Grant watches as she wraps it around his hand. Coulson is pacing in and out of the corner of his eye, talking with who knows about where Fury might be. All that matters nothing now. What's important is Skye, and her recovery.

He jerks when he feels someone's hand on his shoulder, and looks up to hear someone come walking towards them. The same doctor that greeted them when they arrived, appears in the front of the waiting room, and Grant gets up on his feet. "How is she?" Coulson asks, and Grant feels the all-too familiar fear fill him again.

"There was nothing we could do. The bullets perforated her stomach, and penetrated her large and small intestines. We resected what we could, but the damage was too much. She went into cardiac arrest and we tried to revive her, but we were unsuccessful. I'm so sorry."

The room remains silent, but is soon filled with Simmons' sobs, and Fitz wraps his arms around her, trying to keep his tears at bay. May is holding onto the windowsill, looking as if though she may pass out any given moment. Coulson looks like he's going to collapse, and Grant feels the same way.

It feels as if his legs are made of concrete when they move towards the morgue in order to claim her body. His breath hitches when he sees her on the mortuary slab, looking so utterly at peace. They all gather around her, just watching, and Simmons still can't seem to stop crying. He is almost tempted to yell at Coulson when he reaches out and takes her hand in his own.

They just stand there, and Grant all of a sudden realizes that his face is wet. "Everybody out," May says, and they actually listen to her, filing out of the room quietly. Once the door shuts, Grant lets out the sob that has threatened to escape for the last few hours, and it's followed by more as he falls to his knees, and it feels as if Garrett has ripped his heart out of his chest.

He takes her hand, and holds onto it, because he is not sure what to do. Not anymore. Garrett has solely taken away the one person who stood close to Grant's heart, and now he feels as if there's a gaping hole inside of him.

His knees are shaky as he rises, and he presses a gentle kiss to her lips. He closes his eyes to keep more tears from falling, it's already more than enough. He quickly wipes away the tears, and cocks his gun as he leaves to the morgue. Coulson and the others look at him. "Let's get going," He said. "We have a clairvoyant to find."


End file.
